Handel

Georg Frideric Handel is much beloved for many outstanding compositions; the Messiah, Water Music, and my own favorite, the opera Giulio Caesare. But like everyone who composes, he had all these bits and pieces that didn’t fit anywhere. One-offs, so to speak, an enormous collection of them called “Occasional Songs.” They were bits and pieces of operas and cantatas, poems, bawdy songs and a whole host of marginalia from his life, much of it social commentary on the – um “adventuresome” mores of 18th century England.

As “Occasional Songs” also refers to the very old European tradition of composing special songs and ballads for certain important occasions, one wonders if Handel may have chosen this phrase a little bit tongue-in-cheek.

So these are my own occasional songs. Some of them are old pieces that need a place to live. Some of them are new pieces that need to find the light of day. Some are written for special occasions, or as commentary on the adventuresome mores of today. They will only appear occasionally. I’m embarking on an enormous project that will eat up most of my writing time, so don’t look for them every day or anything. You know, it’s like getting an occasional letter, or occasionally finding a dollar on the sidewalk.

Interesting to see George Frideric Handel without his powdered wig, isn’t it? The title of this blog references that somewhat. It’s as if by taking off Handel’s wig, you can really get a look at him. This is my own take on life without artifice. At its best I hope it is the truth laid bare. At its worst it will be dreck, but you can skip those bits.